Have you taken this before:)

 

NATIVE WISDOM - Test yourself

From the Indigenous Peoples Literature Digest, July 22, 2000

 

 

"These days people seek knowledge, not wisdom.

Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future,"

Vernon Cooper, spiritual elder of the Lumbee or Croatoan tribe of NorthCarolina.

 

 

The following activity is designed to help you measure your awareness of Native
American influences in U.S. history and culture and, in so doing, expand your vision of a
people whose wisdom marks generations of Americans from age to age.

 

Be sure to share this information with your Y-Indian groups.

(You'll find the answers at the bottom of this page)

 

1. Before the European Conquest, approximately how many tribes
inhabited what is now the United States?

a) 50, with a population of about 500,000
b) 500, with a population of about 22 million
c) 70, with a population of about 2 million
d) 225, with a population of about 900,000

2. The present population of Native Americans in the United
States is

a) about 6 million
b) about 800,000
c) about 2 million
d) about 300,000

3. In most Native American societies, women have traditionally
played a central role in:

a) the care of home and children
b) community decision-making
c) governmental and ceremonial functions of the group
d) all of the above

4. Approximately how many words were contributed to the English
language by Native American cultures?

a) about 50
b) about 600
c) about 2,200
d) about 4,000

5. When they began colonizing and exploring North America, Europeans encountered many
animals, plants, weather phenomena and land masses that were unfamiliar to them.
Frequently the newcomers adopted and adapted Native American words to describe the
environment, and many of these terms entered the English language. Below are just a few.
See how many you can unscramble and discover.

a) Animals
uksnk
ampu
osoem
gauraj
pihckunm
oocnarc
sumosop
ggrehci
cudaarrab
uoriba

b) Trees and Plants
necap
yhonamga
ckihory
ucacy
semetuiq
ccotbao
minyoh
hsuaqs
zeima
ovcdaao
apitoac
apyaap
mtotao
ottpao

c) Weather Phenomena & Land Masses
caurhiaen
koohcin
youba
vnnasan

6. Match the following Native American place names with their
meanings. (Note: Four place names have the same meaning)

Nebraska
Massachusetts
Michigan
Ohio
Minnesota
Oregon
Kentucky
Iowa
Alabama
Mississippi
North Dakota
South Dakota
Texas
Oklahoma
a) "good river"
b) "friend"
c) "dark and bloody ground"
d) "beautiful land"
e) "beautiful water"
f) "waters that reflect the sky"
g) "flat" or "broad river"
h) "water flowing along"
i) "I make a clearing"
j) "big river"
k) "long river"
l) "green mountain"
m) "great water"
n) "rocky hills"

7. The concept of a unified, representative government for the people was recommended to
the founders of the United States by:

a) Canassatego, leader of the Iroquois tribe of the Northeast
b) Sitting Bull, chief of the Sioux nation
c) Powhatan, leader of the Leni Lanapi (Delaware) Nation and the father of Pocahontas
d) Tisquantum (Squanto), the English-speaking member of the Wampanoag tribe who assisted the Pilgrims in their settlement in Plymouth, Mass.

8. The founders of the United States assumed the national symbol of the bald eagle from:

a) The Apache Nation
b) The Cherokee Nation
c) The Iroquois Nation
d) The Ojibwa (Chippewa) Nation

9. The victory of the Allies over the Axis Powers in World War II was due, in part, to the
use of a Native American language as a secret code. Which language served as that code?

a) Cherokee
b) Potawatomi
c) Sioux
d) Navajo

10. The U.S. Marine Corps Memorial Statue in Washington, D.C., honors a once-famous
World War II hero of Native American descent. What is his name?

a) Sequoia
b) Chief Seattle
c) Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell
d) Ira Hayes

11. True or False

a) Pocahontas is the only Native American whoseportrait is painted in the
rotunda of the U.S. Capitol building.
True or False

b) Many European colonists objected to the Native's use of water for bathing
and drinking.
True or False

c) A sachem is a woman who represents her people as a leader in
governmental or ceremonial affairs.
True or False

d) By 1993, Native Americans convinced President George Bush to sign an
executive order declaring Native American tribes to be considered by the U.S.
Government as sovereign "Domestic Governments" with the ability, among
other state functions, to issue passports.
True or False